Thursday, October 27, 2011

No post yesterday because I was offline all day due to a power outage. Denver had its first autumn snowstorm, and it was a big one:

I think we got about 8 inches here, though it's hard to be sure. The several days before had been warm and sunny, and I spent them frantically preparing house and garden for what we got. One of Tuesday's last tasks: potato and beet harvest:

No writing yesterday as I had intended because no power. I could have used the netbook, of course, but wasn't sure how long it would be before I could recharge the battery. A few years ago after a late spring blizzard I was out for three days... Thankfully, only 22 hours this time!

Monday, October 24, 2011

Busy again in the garden yesterday and today. Our first big winter storm is due tomorrow night, with possibility of 4-8 inches of snow and lows Wednesday night in the teens (F), so I've had a lot to do the last few days in putting the garden to bed and making the garage ready for those geraniums etc. which are too tall to fit in the cold frame. Almost done now - I'll bring them inside tomorrow, pick the beets and batten down a few other things. Wednesday should be a good day for writing, and I'm looking forward to getting back the Druid book!

Monday, October 17, 2011

Hmm, running late today and it looks like I forgot Friday. Ah well, still here, busy, etc. Weather is changing - high around 50 F day, currently 42 F and partly cloudy, so I'm expecting a hard freeze tonight, which should take care of most of the rest of the garden - everything but the beans is already harvested anyway.

No additional writing the last two days but I spent some time yesterday and this morning researching what was actually going on in Roman Britain during late 1st century CE - actually fits in pretty well with what I've written so far. Time to get some more forward progress now on the story...

Monday, October 10, 2011

After two nights of mild frost, the vegetable garden is pretty much done for the year. I haven't harvested the last of the beans yet, and the potatoes and jerusalem artichokes are still to come (I'll dig them after we have a killing frost), but otherwise it's a time to admire the rowan berries and the remaining roses and asters, and start the last clean-up. Cadfael rose:

and Glamis Castle rose:

Still plugging along on the new book. Word count's up to almost 22,000 now. As I mentioned on LibraryThing, I've posted a teaser for comments.

Friday, October 7, 2011

A touch of frost last night. I was expecting it, and harvested most of the rest of my vulnerable crops (peppers, eggplant, squash, tomatoes, basil, and the last cucumber). Not much damage that I can see so far except to the zucchini leaves, but the next few nights are supposed to be colder. Still haven't picked all the beans - we'll see how that goes.

Writing continues to go well. I'm up to 19,000 words now - about 50 pages. Steady does it, or as the Welsh proverb has it, "contestant tapping cracks the stone."

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Autumn color is starting to develop on some of the trees, especially the ash trees, and on the Virginia creeper. Garden harvest is coming to an end, with possible frost this weekend. Weather's finally cooling down a bit, too, which is welcome.

I'm still knocking out 1,000+ words a day on the new book most days. Yesterday was a bit of a strain, because Welsh classes started again, which meant I had to write in the afternoon instead of my preferred evening slot (when there are less distractions, such as lawn mowers, weed whackers, etc.). Still, I managed it. I'm amazed at how smoothly it's going - it's just a matter of pushing myself to turn in that regular 1,000 words. And some sections are more tiring to write than others.

And the next book in the series...

Journeyman bard Gwernin Storyteller accompanies a Welsh princess to Ireland for her wedding. But other members of the party have their own objectives... Set five years after The Ash Spear, this will be the 4th book in the Storyteller series, and the beginning of a new trilogy. Scheduled for publication in late 2015.

Poetry Books

My published poetry series so far includes King Arthur's Raid on Hell and Pryderi's Pigs. Coming soon: Storyteller Songs, a collection of poetry and prose from the first three books of the Storyteller series.